Chinese leading manufacturers invest in Genk after Flemish support of € 3 million, creating jobs for 150 people

Benepack Belgium NV is a joint venture between two Chinese industry leaders. CPMC (producer of packaging, including two-piece aluminum cans) and Haoneng (producer of labels) join their forces in executing this investment project. For both companies, this project means an important (and for CPMC even the first) foreign investment. Benepack Belgium will produce two-piece aluminum beverage cans. From Genk, their products will be supplied to beer breweries and soft drinks manufacturers in Belgium and beyond. This project includes the investment of more than € 50 million in the most innovative production facilities (first of his kind in Belgium) and will employ 150 people, with perspective to further growth in employment and investments in the future.

The Flemish Government acknowledged this project as a very positive contribution to the strengthening and enlargement of industrial activities in Flanders with focus on the circular economy and considers it as highly strategic. Therefore, the regular subsidy ceiling of 1 million euro was breached, and Benepack Belgium was granted € 3 million Strategic Transformation Support. Benepack Belgium was also nominated for Foreign Investment of the Year Trophy, organized by Flanders Investment & Trade.

Xiaolu Wang, Senior Project Manager at CPMC, asked PNO Consultants to guide the new joint-venture in its subsidy processes. “As a foreign investor, you need local partners who are trustworthy and PNO Consultants guided us in an excellent way from start till finish. I really value their personal approach, their proactivity and high-quality services, which delivered us an enormous grant of € 3 million Strategic Transformation Support. Furthermore, I am impressed by the extensive network PNO Consultants has and to which we could make use of. Not only did they put us in touch with VLAIO and the Flanders Cabinet of Economy, PNO also helped unfolding our project with regard to local authorities and new business partners. The start of Benepack Belgium reads as a success story so far and PNO Consultants played a vital role in it. As a very satisfied client, I would like to express my gratitude and I look forward to our future collaboration.”